After being found guilty on two charges of contempt of Congress, Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison on Friday. In addition, he was told to pay a $6,500 fine. Until an appeal is resolved, he will not be required to serve time in jail.
The outspoken conservative commentator and ally of Donald Trump earlier claimed through his defense team that he should merely receive a probationary term. While everything was going on, the Justice Department proposed a six-month term and a fine of $200,000 for the former Trump administration employee who refused to appear before the congressional committee looking into the disturbance on January 6.
Additionally, the prosecution charged Bannon with using “violent rhetoric” against the committee in his War Room podcast, where he frequently takes aim at his detractors.
Bannon criticized the House January 6 committee’s absence from his trial after the jury found him guilty. He also reaffirmed his backing for Trump and asserted that the “battle” had not yet been won.
“[The jury] reached a verdict based on what transpired in that courtroom. However, the prosecutor omitted one crucial line in the closing argument, is I right? He declared, “I stand with Trump and the Constitution, and I will never, ever back down from that.
Bannon already received a one-month minimum sentence from the court for his counts of contempt of Congress, according to Judge Carl Nichols. Protesters yelled “traitor” and “fascist” as Bannon entered the courthouse for his sentence on Friday. Bannon only waved at the crowd while stating that the midterm elections will bring about a “judgment day.”
According to reporting from Law&Crime editor Adam Klasfeld, at Friday’s sentencing, Nichols allegedly called the Capitol incident “undeniably serious” and said the congressional committee had every right to look into it and call in Trump friends like Bannon.
The judge said later that “respect for Congress” is “an vital aspect of our Constitutional structure,” adding that “the January 6 Committee consequently has every cause to investigate what occurred that day.”
Nichols:
"Mr. Bannon, however, has not produced a single document to the committee."
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 21, 2022
Nichols:
"As I stated earlier, Mr. Bannon has not taken responsibility for his actions."
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 21, 2022
Additionally, he charged Bannon with failing to accept “responsibility” for his acts in disobeying the subpoena and failing to provide any information for the committee.
For contempt of Congress, the Justice Department suggested that Bannon receive a $200,000 fine and six months in jail.
Prosecutors reportedly filed a document saying that the defendant “should be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress, and fined $200,000 based on his insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office’s routine pre-sentencing financial investigation.” “The rioters who took over the Capitol on January 6 attacked more than simply a structure; they attacked the rule of law, upon which this nation was founded and on which it has survived. The Defendant increased that onslaught by disobeying the subpoena and authority of the Select Committee.
In addition, the prosecution charged Bannon with using “violent speech” toward the committee outside the courtroom in his War Room podcast.
The statement said, “Through his public platforms, the Defendant has used bombastic and occasionally violent rhetoric to denigrate the Committee’s inquiry, personally insult the Committee members, and mock the criminal justice system.
